Popping open the cabinet, I pulled out the cold alcohol bottle near the end of the shelf.

I didn't even bother grabbing a glass, and simply popped the bottle's cap and took a drink.

“Bloody imbeciles. They're lucky I don't just take what I want with force like half the Lines do,” I said after a long drink.

Grabbing a fresh glass, I returned to my seat and promptly filled it to the brim.

Taking a little longer to drink the glass, I was only able to nurse half of it before I gulped down the rest.

Reaching for the bottle as to refill it, I froze when I found the bottle was gone.

At first I suspected Jamthi... but he had left with the elders...

Before I realized what had happened, the bottle returned to my field of vision and was being poured.

With great care, my glass was filled back up... although not as full as I had previously done.

Glancing to the woman who stood next to me, holding the large bottle with a smile, I had to stop myself from asking who the hell she thought she was.

“Yes husband?” she asked, noticing my look.

My back stiffened, and my mouth suddenly became dry. Husband...? What the hell was she...?

Oh... wait. She was playing along still. As was her job.

“You don't need to act like that when we're alone,” I said, coming to my senses.

“Yes I do,” she promptly responded.

Grabbing the glass, I took another drink before looking back at her. “No you don't.”

She nodded, and seemed happy to do so. “Yes I do. If I don't... I may not act properly when it is needed most,” she said calmly.

Noticing that I wasn't going to drink as fast as earlier, she chose to round my desk and place the bottle down. She grabbed one of the chairs that the elders had been sitting in, and brought it closer to the desk so she could sit in it.

Sitting down, she happily watched me... waiting for the chance to fill up my glass again.

For a long moment I stared at her, and wondered why she was so weird.

Deciding against trying to figure out why, since it was probably impossible... I decided to stand and get another glass.

“How old are you? Can you drink?” I asked as I procured one.

“Oh yes...! May I?”

Putting the new glass down before her, I grabbed the bottle and poured her some. Not nearly as much as myself, since I had no clue if she actually could drink or not... I then refilled my own glass and gestured for her to go ahead.

Without any hesitation she brought the glass to her mouth, but paused. She spent a few moments smelling it, and then took the tiniest of tastes.

Licking her lips, she suddenly stood from her seat... nearly spilling some of the glasses contents. “What wonders!” she shouted.

Quickly taking another drink, I watched in awe as she quickly emptied the glass of its contents... and seemingly enjoyed every drop.

“Wow... I've never tasted anything like this! What is it made of? Where's it from?” she asked, reaching for the bottle.

I didn't stop her from pouring another glass, but I took note of how much she poured. It'd probably not be wise to let her drink anymore after.

“Good isn't it? One of my favorites,” I said.

And one of the most expensive...

This time she slowly drank, as if to savior it for as long as possible. Still standing, she took the utmost care to drink it, and did so with closed eyes... as if to better engulf herself in its taste.

I took ownership of the bottle, but didn't pour myself another glass.

After all, I now had something far more potent than alcohol. And much better.

I didn't need liquor to calm myself down now.

“Do you get to drink stuff like this all the time?” she asked in-between sips.

“One of the perks of being a Line Commander,” I said.

She finally opened her eyes, but only to stare at me with envy.

Finally sitting back down, she released a very long and content sigh... and I wondered if maybe this was the first time she's ever drank anything so exotic.

I had no idea who she was... For all I knew she was the equivalent of some slave, who never got to enjoy such luxuries. This very well may be a once in a lifetime chance for her.

May as well allow her to enjoy it then.

“The only other alcohol I've ever tasted was hot, and it burned to drink. I didn't like it at all,” she said.

“Some do burn a little,” I said.

As she nursed the rest of her drink, I studied the young woman who declared herself as my wife.

Now dressed in normal clothing, she looked much better. Not so much in appearance, but in comfort.

She had looked so out of place in that dress, because she herself felt so. The woman before me now, however, looked as if she belonged here in this room.

Though that might just be the alcohol, or the shock and adrenaline leaving her body after what just happened.

“Do you think they'll play along?” I asked her.

“The elders of Hombil? Of course they will. Bormor was angry, but he's not stupid... nor is Nervi. She's one of the most cunning women to ever sprout from the sands,” she said as she studied the glass in her hands.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“She seemed to allow Bormor to lead the charge, though. Is he the head of the House?” I asked.

“Bormor? No, not at all. He probably has the lowest authority of the three. But... Nervi is a woman,” she said with a shrug.

Ah. So her culture did indeed suffer from such gender issues.

Not uncommon, but I had not expected it... after all, there had been several female elders representing their Houses. Even the Derri seemed to be led by Rivini, so I had simply thought they didn't suffer from such things.

Holding her glass with both hands, she took another tiny drink.

She swayed a little in her seat, and at first I smiled since I figured she had gotten tipsy... but instead she simply was swaying in enjoyment. She was lost in bliss, finding pleasure in something she's never had before.

It was adorable, and I found myself wanting to sway along with her.

I didn't though.

“This almost makes it all worth it,” she whispered while staring at the glass with a loving gaze.

That made me smile, and I wondered just how honest her words were. “Hm. Glad you're so easy to please,” I said.

Her smile didn't falter, but her eyes did narrow at me. “And you, my husband, seem difficult to please. I'll have you know the only time you smiled since we've met was when you were yelling at the Hombil's. Quite a smirk, I must admit. It won't be long until the whole city knows how terrifying you can be, after that display,” she said.

While she took a sip of her drink with a strange note of levity, I found myself at a loss for words.

Was she one of my own people in disguise? Or was it simply the alcohol speaking.

Someone in her position should not have even thought of such a thing, let alone said it aloud. She and her House couldn't afford to anger me.

“Of course I'm difficult. I represent six thousand. To please me, you must please them all,” I said.

A tiny laugh came from her, and it was a cute sound since she tried to smother it. Not because she was ashamed of it, but because she had worried her laughter would cause her to spill some of her precious drink.

“Whew...” she calmed herself quickly, and confidently nodded before taking another drink. She was proud of herself for not spilling a single drop.

“I must not be that terrifying,” I said plainly.

She tilted her head to my statement, and then gave me wicked smirk. “Oh, but you are. I'm thankful for the drink, else I'd probably still be sweating and worried for my life,” she said.

I clasped my hands as I sat back, now interested. “Indeed? I did not think a few small sips would be enough to quench such fear so quickly.”

“Just think what a whole bottle would do!” she said as she stood from her chair and reached across my desk.

She wasn't tall enough to reach the bottle, thanks to the width of the desk, and at first I wasn't too concerned... but when she noticed she couldn't reach it, she actually crawled up onto my desk.

Startled by her audacity, I quickly grabbed the bottle away from her reach.

Giving me a hard look, I glared her down. “You've had enough.”

“Two small glasses? At least one more,” she said, and I saw her legs dance in the air a little as she crawled fully onto the desk.

“Are you trying to piss me off?” I asked, standing from my seat as to keep the bottle out of her reach.

“Only a little,” she said without a hint of shame.

“Well it's working. Get off my desk, before you rip or break something,” I said.

A long moment passed as she stared up at me, glaring with a strange amount of annoyance. I was the one who should be annoyed!

Eventually she gave in, and sighed. Smoothly sliding off the desk, she mumbled something as she sat back down.

Playing with her now empty glass, I shook my head at her and went back to the cupboard.

Putting the bottle back, I closed the cupboard and returned to my seat.

Before I even sat down, she had stood and went to the cupboard.

My heart nearly missed a beat at the sight of her as she grabbed the handle, and my mind tried to comprehend what I was seeing.

“Huh?” she complained when the cupboard wouldn't open, and even went so far as to place her glass down as to get both hands onto the handle.

Collecting myself, I took a deep breath and watched her for a moment as she struggled to get into the cupboards. She tried several different hatches, but none would open for her.

I gave her a little bit of respect, for trying for so long, and was somewhat glad since it gave me time to collect and calm myself.

After all, I couldn't afford to exile her or say something that couldn't be taken back... at least not until I got the rest of this cities goods.

“Give up?” I asked when she finally stopped trying.

With her back to me, I could see her glaring at my reflection in one of the panes of colored glass. It was quite something.

Turning around, I was greeted with a small smile. She hid that expression quite fast.

“I didn't see you lock them,” she said.

“Because I didn't,” I said.

Her fake smile faltered, and her real face revealed itself. A look of confused annoyance danced from me to the shelf.

Standing, I slowly walked back over to the shelf... and opened the door next to her.

With her eyes glued on it, I closed it in front of her.

Hastily grabbing the handle, the young woman tried to open it and like before failed to do so. She didn't try as long, or as hard as earlier though.

“How?” she asked, and I noticed her tone was more amazed than annoyed.

“Because they're mine. Not yours,” I said plainly.

She frowned, and tapped the glass pane. “Some kind of magic?” she asked.

“Something like that.”

For a few seconds I enjoyed watching the calm understanding dawn upon her. She didn't just understand it, she accepted it.

Such a thing was rare... maybe it was only possible because she was from such a backwater town as this one.

Anywhere else, they'd have called me a liar. Since after all, magic couldn't do it as flawlessly as that. Was it possible? Yes... but one had to activate magic. It wasn't something that just occurred naturally, or instantly.

“Amazing...” she whispered, then smiled up at me. “Well?” she then asked.

“Well what?”

“Not going to yell at me? Or punish me?”

The strange smile she wore while asking such questions put me on guard. What was she playing at?

“No? Not for now anyway. I need you to ensure trade can be finished, after all,” I said.

“I see. So you'd accept even insults and disrespect as long as you got your wealth?” she asked.

“Who wouldn't?” I asked back, and went back to my desk.

“My people wouldn't,” she said softly.

Taking my seat, I sighed. “So I've noticed. The strange pride of your people gets in your own way. You'd do well to abandon it,” I said.

“Those who were able to left with the Lines generations ago. We're what are left of those who couldn't,” she said as she too returned to her seat.

“Surprise, there.”

She shrugged.

My desk was now a mess, with papers and books pushed and scattered thanks to her earlier antics. It was annoying to look at, but I wasn't in the mood to clean it up at the moment.

I made sure to look around to ensure nothing had been torn or knocked over, but it seemed she hadn't done much damage.

“Is Jamthi your actual blood?”

Looking up from the mess, to the one who caused it, I wondered where this question came from.

“Yes. His mother is my father's sister. He's a good kid,” I said.

“Are most of your people blood related?” she further inquired.

“No. He's the only one who is.”

She spent a few moments pondering something, and then smiled. “So he's in line for succession? Is he to be the next Lord of this Line?”

Half tempted to tell her yes, just to see what she'd say next, I decided to simply tell her the truth. After all, it was the type of question that anyone on this Line would happily answer. “No. The transferring of Line's does not work that way.”

“Oh? So...” she started to ask another question, but someone knocked on the door.

“Enter.”

Sarley entered, and the young woman turned around and gave her a large smile as to welcome her. “Hello Sarley!”

“Miss Noth,” Sarley greeted in turn, and nearly made me exile them both.